Sailor Moon (anime & manga)

Manga

The first cover of the Sailor Moon manga, July 1992.See also: List of Sailor Moon chapters
The Sailor Moon manga was preceded by Codename: Sailor V, which centered around just one Sailor Senshi. Takeuchi devised the idea when she wanted to create a cute series about girls in outer space, and her editor asked her to put them in sailor fuku.[4] When Sailor V was proposed for adaptation into an anime, the concept was modified so that Sailor V herself became only one member of a team. The resulting manga series was a fusion of the popular magical girl and sentai genres of which Takeuchi was a fan.[5] Recurring motifs include astronomy,[4] astrology, Greek myth,[7] Roman myth, geology, Japanese elemental themes,[29] teen fashions,[7][14] and schoolgirl antics.[14]

Talks between Takeuchi and her publishers originally envisaged only one story-arc,[30] and the storyline developed in meetings a year prior to publications,[31] but after it was completed Takeuchi was asked to continue. Four more story arcs were produced,[30] often being published simultaneously with the five corresponding anime series. The anime series would only lag the manga by a month or two.[31]

The complete original manga spans 52 chapters, known as Acts, as well as ten separate side-stories. Its main series appeared in serial form in Nakayoshi, Kodansha's shōjo manga magazine, from 1991 to 1995; the side-stories were serialized in Kodansha's Run Run. Kodansha has published all the chapters and side-stories in book form. The first edition came out as the series was being produced, from 1992 through 1997,[32][33] and consisted of 18 volumes with all the chapters and side stories in the order in which they had been released.

The second edition, called the shinsōban or "renewal" edition, began in 2003 during the run of the live-action series.[34] The individual chapters were redistributed so that there are more per book, and some corrections and updates were made to the dialogue and drawings. New art was featured as well, including completely new cover art and character sketches (including characters unique to the live-action series). In all, the new edition consists of 12 story volumes and two separate short story volumes.

By the end of 1995, the thirteen Sailor Moon volumes then available had sold about one million copies each, and Japan had exported the manga to over 23 countries, including China, Mexico, Australia, most of Europe and North America.[35]

A special art book was released for each of the five story arcs, collectively called the Original Picture Collection, which contain cover art, promotional material, and other work done by Takeuchi. Many of the drawings appear accompanied by comments on how she developed her ideas, how she created each picture, whether or not she likes it, and commentary on the anime interpretation of her story.[36][37][38][39][40]

Another picture collection, Volume Infinity, appeared in a strictly limited edition after the end of the series in 1997. This self-published artbook includes drawings by Takeuchi as well as by her friends, her staff, and many of the voice-actors who worked on the anime. In 1999, the Materials Collection was published, containing development sketches and notes for nearly every character in the manga, as well as some who never appeared. Each drawing is surrounded with notes by Takeuchi about the specifics of various costume pieces, the mentality of the characters, and her particular feelings about them. It also includes timelines for the story arcs and for the real-life release of products and materials relating to the anime and manga. At the end, the Parallel Sailor Moon short story is featured, celebrating the year of the rabbit.[41]

Anime
See also: List of Sailor Moon episodes
The Sailor Moon anime, co-produced by TV Asahi, Toei Agency and Toei Animation, started airing only a month after the first issue of the manga was published. With 200 episodes airing from March 1992 to February 1997 on TV Asahi, Sailor Moon is one of the longest magical girl anime series. The anime sparked a highly successful merchandising campaign of over 5,000 items,[7] which contributed to demand all over the world and translation into numerous languages. Sailor Moon has since become one of the most famous anime properties in the world.[42][43] Due to its resurgence of popularity in Japan, the series is slated to be back on the air as of September 1, 2009.[44]

Sailor Moon consists of five separate series. The titles of the series are Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon R, Sailor Moon S, Sailor Moon Supers and Sailor Moon Sailor Stars. Each series roughly corresponds to one of the five major story arcs of the manga, following the same general storyline and including most of the same characters.[31] There were also five special animated shorts, as well as three theatrically-released movies: Sailor Moon R: The Movie, Sailor Moon S: The Movie, and Sailor Moon Supers: The Movie.[45][46][47]

The anime series uses traditional animation techniques throughout. The series was directed first by Jun'ichi Satō, then by Kunihiko Ikuhara and later by Takuya Igarashi. Character design was headed by Kazuko Tadano, Ikuko Itoh and Katsumi Tamegai, all of whom were also animation directors. Other animation directors included Masahiro Andō, Hisashi Kagawa, and Hideyuki Motohashi.[48]

The series sold as twenty "volumes" in Japan. By the end of 1995, each volume had sold approximately 300,000 copies

Miki Falls by Mark Crilley

Miki Falls is an OEL manga series created by Mark Crilley. It is structured as a four-volume series, each book taking place during one of the seasons over the course of a year

Plot
A story of a stronghearted girl, Miki Falls is about 17-year-old Miki Yoshida's final year in high school. Miki, a member of the archery club, is intrigued by the new student Hiro Sakurai. Hiro at first is wildly popular with all the students in the school, but then, he refuses to socialize or talk with anyone. Seeing this, Miki makes up her mind: she will become friends with Hiro Sakurai even if it means overcoming the unwinding truth of Hiro's life.

[edit] Influences
Inspired by nature, Crilley went out into the Japanese countryside to make sketches of the landscape and shrines, which he incorporated into the artwork.[1]

[edit] Film adaptation
Variety is reporting that Paramount Pictures and Brad Pitt’s Plan B have acquired the rights to adapt Mark Crilley’s four-volume OEL manga Miki Falls into a movie with Sera Gamble, a producer and writer for “Supernatural”, attached to the project as the scriptwriter.[2] Crilley is best known for his Akiko series of comic books targeted at 9- to 12-year-olds; all four volumes of this latest series are being published on HarperCollins’ HarperTeen label. There has also been an article in AnimeInsider Magazine about the film adaption.

[edit] Characters in the group
Miki
Hiro
[edit] Publishing history
[edit] Manga
Miki Falls: Spring
Miki Falls: Summer
Miki Falls: Autumn
Miki Falls: Winter
Crilley has a Youtube account showing previews, and artwork from the Miki Falls series. It also features general manga-style drawing tutorials narrated by Crilley.

Shugo Chara

Shugo Chara! (しゅごキャラ!, Shugo Kyara!?), also known as My Guardian Characters, is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by the manga author duo, Peach-Pit. The story centers on elementary school girl Amu Hinamori, whose popular exterior, referred to as "cool and spicy" by her classmates, contrasts with her introverted personality. When Amu wishes for the courage to be reborn as her would-be self, she is surprised to find three colorful eggs the next morning, which hatch into three Guardian Characters: Ran, Miki, and Su.

Shugo Chara! is serialized in the magazine Nakayoshi and published by Kodansha in Japan. Del Rey has licensed the English language manga rights, releasing the first volume on March 27, 2007. It won the 2008 Kodansha Manga Award for best children's manga.

Shugo Chara! has also been adapted into a fifty-one episode anime television series of the same title produced by Satelight under the direction of Kenji Yasuda and debuted on October 6, 2007 on TV Tokyo. On July 20, 2008, Anime News Network reported that the Shugo Chara! anime would be continued for a second year under the title Shugo Chara!! Doki—, the first episode airing on October 10, 2008; the official anime website later announced an October 4, 2008 start date.

On October 3, 2009, Shugo Chara! began featuring another series. The new program, Shugo Chara Party! containing Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki and Shugo Chara Pucchi Puchi! follow the current anime series as its power-up.[

Plot

The plot of the story, Amu Hinamori, is a student at Seiyo Elementary.[3] At first glance, her classmates refer to her as "cool and spicy" and rumors speculate about her personal life. However, her real personality is that of a very shy girl who has trouble showing her true personality. One night, Amu wishes for the courage to show her "would-be" self, and the next morning finds three brightly colored eggs—red, blue, and green—in her bed. At first, she is alarmed, but realizes she must have really wished to change. These eggs hatch into three Guardian Characters: Ran, Miki, and Su. The Guardian Characters aid Amu in discovering who she truly is and help fulfill Amu's dreams. Amu's life becomes much more complex as she struggles to deal with her "would-be" selves and the Seiyo Elementary's Guardians, who recruit Amu as the Joker to search for X Eggs and X Characters, the corrupted forms of peoples' dreams.

Meanwhile, the Easter Company is extracting people's eggs in search of a special egg called the Embryo. The Embryo is believed to grant any wish to the one who possesses it. However, the process creates X Eggs and X Characters. It is described as a white egg with a heart and yellow wings.Which they eventually found out was someone else's egg.

Later on in the series a fourth (yellow) egg is born, this egg contains the Guardian Character Diamond. She was only seen about 2 times in the series until almost the end. She was finally born.

Characters
Main article: List of Shugo Chara! characters
The main heroine of the story is Amu Hinamori, a popular girl who is actually insecure. Peach-Pit uses Amu to explore differences between one's true self and the self that is presented to others. Like Jun Sakurada in Peach-Pit's previous work, Rozen Maiden, Amu tackles issues such as alienation and fitting in at school. Unlike most heroines in other magical girl series, Amu is neither the perfect sweetheart nor a complete klutz. Amu gets grumpy and frequently talks back to others in contrast to the polite schoolgirls that fill the genre.[4]

Amu's Guardian Characters—Ran, Miki, Su, and Diamond—aid her in her quest of self-discovery. Each Guardian Character represents an aspect of Amu's true self. Ran represents Amu's desire to be more honest and athletic, Miki represents Amu's desire to be more level headed and artistic, Su represents Amu's desire to be more caring and improve her domestic skills, while Diamond represents Amu's desire to shine in front of others and be a good speaker and singer. Moreover, the Character Guardians are more than mere mascots who help Amu learn about her true self. They can also perform a "Character Change" where Amu's personality is replaced by an entirely different one.[5]

However, Amu is not the only one with Guardian Characters. Each of the Guardians—Tadase Hotori, Nadeshiko Fujisaki, Kukai Souma, and Yaya Yuiki—have their own Guardian Characters. Amu also encounters Ikuto Tsukiyomi and Utau Hoshina (Tsukiyomi), two siblings who also have Guardian Characters and are employed by the Easter Company to search for the Embryo.

Eventually, Nadeshiko Fujisaki and Kukai Souma leave the Guardians and are replaced by Rima Mashiro and Kairi Sanjo respectively. Kairi later leaves and is replaced by Nagihiko Fujisaki, Nadeshiko's real identity, as the third Jack's chair, with his new Guardian Character, Rhythm.

Media
[edit] Manga
In December 2005, Peach Pit announced that they were working on a new shōjo manga series called Shugo Chara! The first chapter was published in the February 2006 edition of Nakayoshi magazine.[6] The first volume collection was then republished in July 6, 2006 by Nakayoshi publisher Kodansha. In addition to the regular volumes, the series is being released in limited editions in Japan, each of which include different cover art from the regular editions, metallic foil sleeves, and a set of postcards featuring Amu in various outfits and poses following the color theme of the dust jackets.[7] Del Rey Manga announced that it acquired the English language rights to Shugo Chara! during MangaNEXT 2006 and released the first volume on March 27, 2007.[8][9]

The series was put on hiatus along with two other series, Rozen Maiden and Zombie-Loan, in December 2008 due to a sudden illness and hospitalization. One month later, Peach-Pit announced that all three series will resume and thanked their fans for the support during the illness.[10]

There is a new spin off manga series called Shugo Chara Chan!, featuring drawings by Mizushima Naftaren, which is in yonkoma (4-panel) comics style and focuses on Amu's guardians. Currently there are two volumes. There is no special edition version of the spin off series.[11]

[edit] Anime
Main articles: List of Shugo Chara! episodes, List of Shugo Chara!! Doki— episodes, List of Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki episodes, and List of Shugo Chara! soundtracks
Shugo Chara! was adapted into an anime television series of the same title in 2007. The television series is produced by Satelight under the direction of Kenji Yasuda and was first broadcast on the Japanese network, TV Tokyo. Consisting of fifty-one episodes, the first episode, "A Guardian Character is Born!" (しゅごキャラ誕生!, Shugo Kyara Tanjō!?), aired on October 6, 2007. The episodes are rebroadcast by five other networks within a few days after the initial broadcast on TV Tokyo.[12]

Six pieces of theme music by the J-pop group Buono! are used for the first season—two opening themes and four closing themes. The opening theme for the first twenty-six episodes is "Egg of the Heart" (こころのたまご, Kokoro no Tamago?); and the last twenty-five episodes, "I Love Everyone" (みんなだいすき, Minna Daisuki?). The closing theme for the first twelve episodes is "True Self" (ホントのじぶん, Honto no Jibun?); episodes thirteen to twenty-six, "Love Rider" (恋愛 ライダー, Ren'ai Raidā?); episodes twenty-seven to thirty-nine, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"; and the last twelve episodes, "Compete And Go!" (ガチンコでいこう!, Gachinko de Ikō!?).[12] There are also four insert songs, all sung by Nana Mizuki: "Meikyū Butterfly", first sung in episode 12; "Black Diamond", first in episode 39; "Heartful Song", first in episode 47; and "Taiyou ga Niau yo", first in episode 93.

A second year of episodes, under the title Shugo Chara!! Doki— (しゅごキャラ!!どきっ?), began airing the week after the fifty-first episode, on October 4, 2008; previously, Anime News Network reported that it was scheduled for October 10, 2008 on AT-X.[13] Two opening themes sung by Shugo Chara Egg! and one by Guardians4 have been used; the opening theme for the first twelve episodes is "Everyone's Egg" (みんなのたまご, Minna no Tamago?); the second is "Guardian Guardian!" (しゅごしゅご!, Shugo Shugo!?), used in episodes sixty-five to episode seventy-six; and the third opening up to date is "Leave it to the♪Guardians" (おまかせ がーデイアン, Omakase♪Guardian?), by Guardians 4. The ending theme is "Lotta Love Lotta Love" (ロッタラ ロッタラ, Rottara Rottara?) by Buono!.[14] A second ending theme, "This Road" (ko·no·mi·chi?), also by Buono!, took its place from episode 69 to 76. The third ending, "MY BOY", also sung by Buono!, started showing from episode 77 to 89. The fourth opening theme, which is sung by Guardians4, is called School Days. The fourth ending theme is called "Take it Easy!", also sung by Buono!, took its place from episode 90 and onwards. The opening theme for the Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki segment is "Watashi no Tamago" (My Egg) performed by Shugo Chara! Egg, while the opening for Shugo Chara! Party itself is "Party Time!" by Guardians 4. The first ending is "Bravo! Bravo!" performed by Buono!.[15]

Crunchyroll announced on November 19, 2008 that it will be streaming Shugo Chara! with English subtitles along with other anime series from TV Tokyo.[16]

On August 25, 2009, Anime News Network reported that a new series will premiere in Japan, October 3.[1] The new series titled Shugo Chara Party! featuring anime and live-action segments will contain the Anime Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki, the "power-up" of the ongoing Shugo Chara!! Doki— anime as it's main segment and Shugo Chara Pucchi Puchi!, anime shorts starring Ran, Miki, Su, and Diamond. Director Kenji Yasuda is announced to continue to oversee both Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki and Shugo Chara Pucchi Puchi!.[2]

Sailor Chibi-Chibi

Chibi-Chibi (ちびちび?) first appears in Act 44 of the manga and Episode 182 of the anime. She appears to be about two years old, and cannot really talk yet: she imitates the ends of others' sentences, and mostly says "chibi". Her red-pink hair is always up in two heart shaped odango with little ringlets sticking out the sides, echoing Usagi's hairstyle. Chibi-Chibi's name is a doubling of the Japanese term meaning "runt," "dwarf," or "shrimp," and is used both for that reason and because of Chibi-Chibi's similarity to Chibi-usa. It is also a pun, as the word chibi-chibi also means "making something last".[13]

Chibi-Chibi's first appearance echoes that of Chibi-usa. In the manga, she is shown floating down to Earth with an umbrella in her hand, and then simply shows up at the door of the Tsukino house. When Usagi's mother expresses surprise, asking "Chibi-usa?" the little girl repeats "Chibi chibi?" and receives her nickname. In the anime, she meets Usagi in the park one afternoon and starts to follow her around, saying only "chibi chibi" (without having been prompted). In each series, Chibi-Chibi immediately attaches herself to Usagi's family, whose memories are modified so that they believe her to be the youngest child—almost exactly what Chibi-usa had done on her first appearance.[14] The Senshi theorize that she might in fact be Usagi's sister, or perhaps her second daughter, or the child of Chibi-usa.[15] In the anime, Setsuna states that Usagi herself only has one child,[16] and in the manga, any Queen of the Silver Millennium line will have only one daughter. When Chibi-usa meets Chibi-Chibi (in the manga only), she feels very strongly that Chibi-Chibi is not hers.[17]

In each series, Chibi-Chibi is the caretaker of a small, ornate incense burner that releases a scent of fragrant olive blossoms, which the Sailor Starlights gradually recognize as a symbol of Princess Kakyuu. They threaten Chibi-Chibi and try to take it away from her, and Kakyuu herself is revealed to have been resting inside it, hidden from the evil Sailor Galaxia.[18][19]

Chibi-Chibi eventually transforms, under her own power, into a Sailor Senshi. In the manga she is simply named Sailor Chibi-Chibi, while in the anime she is called Sailor Chibi-Chibi Moon. Although the reprint of the manga continues to omit the word 'moon', it is added to her name on a sticker included with Volume 12. In the manga, Chibi-Chibi transforms into a Sailor Senshi by shouting the words "Chibi-Chibi Crystal Power! Make Up!"[20] This transition is never shown on screen in the anime. In this Senshi form, she carries a heart scepter with what looks like a planetary ring and uses it to defend herself and Sailor Moon. She is not shown using any attacks of her own, but she does increase Sailor Moon's power.

The truth of Chibi-Chibi's identity is very different in the manga from what it is in the anime, largely because the two series were being produced at roughly the same time. In the manga, Chibi-Chibi's childlike form is really a disguise for Sailor Cosmos, an ultimately-powerful Senshi from the future. In the anime, Chibi-Chibi is the starseed of Sailor Galaxia, who had once been a great force for good. When Galaxia fought Chaos, she could see no way to defeat it except to seal it away inside her own body. In order to protect her starseed from being corrupted, she sent it away to Earth, where it finally becomes Chibi-Chibi. Chibi-Chibi is also referred to as the "light of hope" (kibō no hikari) by the Starlights—their one chance for defeating Galaxia. She is able to transport herself and the Senshi around Galaxia's domain freely, and in the end, transforms herself into a Sword of Sealing (fuuin no ken). This is the weapon Galaxia had used to seal away Chaos, and Chibi-Chibi begs Sailor Moon to use it to defeat them.

In the original anime production of Sailor Moon, Chibi-Chibi is voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi, who also provides Usagi's voice.[21] In the stage musicals, Chibi-Chibi has been played by 4 actresses: Mao Kawasaki, Mikiko Asuke, Yuka Gouchou, and Mina Horita.[22] Naoko Takeuchi praised Kawasaki's cuteness as Chibi-Chibi.[23] When she appears in the stage musicals, Chibi-Chibi's backstory always follows the anime version. She is given her own song, "Mou ii no" (It's All Right), which she sings to announce that she has come to rejoin Galaxia.

Air Tv (manga)

An Air manga was serialized in the Japanese computer game magazine Comptiq between August 10, 2004 and February 10, 2006.[33] The individual chapters were later collected into two separate volumes published by Kadokawa Shoten. The story was adapted from the visual novel version that preceded it, and was illustrated by Japanese artist Yukimaru Katsura. Between the two volumes, there are fifteen main chapters (nine in volume one and six in volume two), and two bonus chapters included at the end of each volume.[34][35] The manga version goes through the Dream and Air arcs in detail while the Summer arc is only touched upon briefly throughout the manga. The main focus is on Misuzu's story with Kano and Minagi serving as minor characters in comparison. However, Minagi's story is explained in the bonus installment at the end of volume two.[35]

There are also five sets of manga anthologies produced by different companies and drawn by a multitude of different artists. The first volume of the earliest anthology series, released by Ichijinsha under the title Air Comic Anthology, was released on January 25, 2001 under their DNA Media Comics label. Volumes for this series continued to be released until December 25, 2001 with the seventh volume. The second anthology,Air Anthology Comic, was released in a single volume by Softgarage on December 20, 2002. On April 17, 2004, Ohzora released an anthology comprising of works based on both Kanon and Air entitled Haru Urara: Kanon & Air. Ohzora also released three other anthologies under the title Air, the last of which came out on March 24, 2005.[36] The last manga anthology was released as a single volume on April 2, 2005 by Jive entitled Comic Anthology Air: Kimi no Iru Basho. Each of the anthology series are written and drawn by an average of twenty people per volume.[36]